Investors seem to have taken the old adage "Sell in May, go away" to heart as Singapore shares extended losses for a 10th straight session.

A weak Wall Street lead, global economic woes and mostly lacklustre first-quarter local corporate earnings sent the Straits Times Index down 1.34 per cent or 37.01 points to 2,730.80. For the week, the STI shed a hefty 3.8 per cent.

Ever since the Bank of Japan spooked markets last week with its surprise decision to stand pat on policy, the local market has lost its impetus to rise further, traders say.

"Coupled with a lack of good news from the global front, it's hard for the market to move up further," remisier Alvin Yong said. "Key support for the market is now seen at the 2,680 level."

The market was weighed down by banking counters and HongKong Land. OCBC slid 1.3 per cent or 11 cents to $8.33; United Overseas Bank dipped 1.7 per cent or 31 cents to $17.79; and DBS Group Holdings fell 0.9 per cent or 14 cents to $14.87. HongKong Land shed 2.6 per cent or 16 cents to $6.04. But some brokerages remain bullish on the banking sector. UOB KayHian maintained an overweight call, saying that DBS' results exceeded expectations while OCBC and UOB's results were in line.

"Our top pick is DBS, followed by OCBC," it said. "Investors should be relieved that the deterioration in asset quality was mild. Growth could be strengthened in the second half of the year due to a pick-up in loan growth."

"OCBC's and UOB's fees from wealth management declined 15.5 per cent year on year and 26.1 per cent year on year respectively. The decline was most severe at UOB at 26.1 per cent year on year. DBS was the exception with wealth management fees growing 5.4 per cent year on year, boosted by its bancassurance partnership with ManuLife," the brokerage said.

Meanwhile, Singapore-listed logistics firm CWT was queried by the Singapore Exchange for the second time in two months for "unusual price and volume movements".

CWT shares rose 5.9 per cent or 12 cents to $2.14 on 5.2 million shares traded. This follows reports that Chinese conglomerate HNA Group is in advanced talks with CWT controlling shareholder C&P Holdings to buy its stake. This would trigger an offer for the entire company valued at about US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion).

Weaker oil prices took a toll on oil and commodity counters, which were among the most actively traded yesterday. Noble Group fell 4.7 per cent or two cents to 40.5 cents, with 57.2 million shares traded; Ezra Holdings dipped 4.2 per cent or 0.4 cent to 9.1 cents with 40.5 million shares traded. Golden Agri-Resources sank 2.6 per cent or one cent to 37 cents, with 33.5 million shares traded.

The Straits Times

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